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gabyspinktasticlibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, Death, Racism, and Violence
marippe's review against another edition
3.5
I can "fix" the kinks in my hair, but not the kinks in this whole system that hates us.
The queer rep was very good, but characters lacked depth. The way Jaime was written was a miss for me.
I can't see a White supremacy school being able to put up with being that kind to black people just to destroy their lives a few years later, it's kinda too smart if you get me.
For a debut novel though I do think it was good. I don't think it needed to be as long as it is (particularly the beginning, it was slow and then suddenly everything started happening.)
I think we got to the ending too easily.
Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Murder, Outing, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
transquake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Racism, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
Moderate: Classism, Death, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Stalking
kdailyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Homophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
elizogs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
but it never fails to shock me at alllll. this book was so good because it touched on the real world impacts as well as making it a tad relatable. as well as the story not being typical -
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, Blood, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Homophobia, and Suicide
if u read this book please be cautious, there are many triggers!!moniipeters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Classism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Self harm
kathleenes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Self harm, Bullying, Classism, Homophobia, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Outing, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, and Car accident
clockworkstars's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
4.5☆|5
Embarquons ensemble vers la Niveus private academy, école élitiste et quasiment entièrement blanche à l'exception de deux étudiants noirs, faisant ici leur rentrée en dernière année. On suit Devon et Chiamaka et tout cela se passe bien jusqu'à que quelqu'un, un mystérieux "aces" ne se mettent à révéler leurs secrets les plus enfouis. À les révéler à l'entièreté de l'établissement via des messages anonymes...
Sachez que si vous n'avez pas encore lu ce livre, vous devez aller le lire maintenant. Et je ne plaisante même pas. Vous avez besoin de lire ce livre. Préparez vous à vous sentir mal, plein de rage, à pleurer mais ce seront des réactions justes et légitimes. Mais lisez ce livre.
Je n'ai pas pu le poser. C'est un livre que l'on ne peut pas déposer et que l'on ne veut pas lâcher non plus. On ne veut pas arrêter de le lire, en sortir ne serait ce que quelques instants. C'est un véritable page turner et cela en est un très bon. Ce livre est absolument exceptionnel. Et cela pour tant de raisons. Tout d'abord grâce à la plume qui vous attrape pour ne pas vous lâcher, qui vous plonge entièrement dans l'histoire. Je l'ai adorée, elle donne une puissance incroyable au livre. Et la puissance est renforcée par l'histoire créée par l'autrice.
Un plot qui va vous mettre en colère, qui va vous retourner. Des retournements de situation qui vous donne envie de crier, une histoire de fiction qui vous glace le sang car vous savez au fond de vous que ce n'est pas si poussé que cela, que cela peut arriver, que cela arrive sans doute quelque part. Car cela semble tellement réel.
Ce livre parle par conséquent de bien des choses, il met en évidence et dénonce le racisme et l'homophobie, l'élitisme et la "suprématie blanche". C'est un thriller exceptionnel car il traite de thèmes extrêmement réels.
Et il le fait accompagné de personnages qui semblent tout aussi réels et vivants. On suit Devon, adolescent noir et gay issu de quartier populaire, l'un des seuls de son école à venir de ces quartiers de la ville. Et on suit Chiamaka, jeune fille biraciale (italienne et nigérienne), saphique, plus riche et bien plus populaire. Et ils sont tellement différents, lire leurs pdv en alternance en était exceptionnelle. Je suis absolument fan de Chiamaka, donnez plus de personnages féminins bien écrit qui sont badass au possible (je vais peut être juste arrêter de lire des personnages féminins écrits par des hommes).
Et le fait qu'ils ne viennent pas du même milieu se voit au niveau du traitement de leur personnage et cela se voit dans le comment ils réagissent différemment à ce qui leur tombe dessus. Les personnages sont extrêmement bien gérés par l'autrice qui a réussi à écrire ici un roman incroyable.
C'est queer, c'est noir, cela a un coté dark academia, une plume et un plot relevant du génie, cela traite de racisme systématique, qu'est ce que vous attendez de plus ? Lisez le, maintenant.
Rep : MC noire biraciale (italienne et nigérienne) et sapphique ; MC noir et gay ; SC noir et achiléen
TW : racisme ; n-word ; homophobie ; outing ; harcèlement ; sang ; consommation d'alcool ; accident de voiture ; stalking ; abus émotionnel ; crise de panique ; idée suicidaire ; mention de tentative de suicide passée ; mort d'un parent ; violence par armes à feu ; meurtre ; sexisme ; usage de drogue ; incendie ; relation toxique
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Stalking, and Outing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity
bookishchef's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I kept assuming it was either Jamie, Jack or Belle (in that order from most likely to least). So when the answer turned out to be "yes, and also all of the other characters", I was shook.
I really enjoyed the ride though, even though I thought the final plottwist
There are also still some things that puzzle me:
1. Was Scotty in on it too? If so, he's a damn good actor if he convinced both Devon and Chiamaka that he didn't do it. His storyline got dropped halfway through the book so we never really got a resolution there.
2. What happened to Belle? She told Chiamaka what was happening and I don't assume that her family took kindly to that.
3. How did Devon end up the way he did? We get a little bit of an answer to that in the prologue, which shows that he's living with Terell and his mother but... How? He obviously wasn't getting into Juilliard and he dropped out. Yet the epilogue letter calls him "professor". So what did he do? How did he manage?
4. What happened to Andre? Is he still serving time? Am I not supposed to care?
5. Why did Devon's mom hide his father's death from him? It is said in the epilogue that Devon and his mother weren't on speaking terms for a while after he confronted her... And then what? How did that conversation go? This subplot feels unfinished now.
6. Was Peter the Hacker in on it too? If so, why did he help Chiamaka by revealing what pc the messages were send from? Why did he ask her to put in a good word for him with Belle if he knew Belle's family was in on it too?
And if he wasn't in on it, how did Aces expect the black students to not (accidentally) ask one of the students that wasn't in Aces for help?
I also have a minor headcanon/conspiracy:
We're told by a news anchor that the fire that burns down Niveus was caused by electrical issues. Which seems fair because those issues were mentioned many times before.
Only I thought those issues were just Aces manipulating the cameras, etc. With how it was set up, I assumed Jamie burned down the library. He was set up as a pyromaniac early on, and then threatened Chiamaka with his lighter. So, when she left him, angry and alone, in the library with his lighter, I assumed he was the cause of the fire.
Which he may still have been. After all, the book tells the reader many times that the media covers up white crimes all the time. But Jamie, according to the news broadcast, died in the fire. So that would mean he burned down the school without giving himself an escape? Or was he really that upset about being attracted to/friends with a black girl? I guess we'll never know. So, headcanon land it is.
Graphic: Hate crime, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Outing
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism
The N word is used once.lotoblanco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Outing, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Classism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Body shaming
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, and Sexual content